i have to get this off my chest

January 10, 2013

I have some things to say and I brought my soap box.My apologies, but I have to get these things off my chest.

You don’t have to be awesome everyday.

(some days you just have to Be. That’s all. And then you can put that day to bed. And it’s ok. Really. Who can stand being awesome everyday anyway? Doesn’t it make you tired? It makes me tired just thinking of it. Ordinary, average, boring. They have their perks and their place. I promise.)

Ever moment does not have to be teachable.

(I stole this Anna Quindelin and she is right. Can you imagine if your boss followed you around all day trying to make every moment Wonderful! Educational! Instructive! Showing you how to do everything Better! Faster! More like her! Sometimes you just want to put your head down, get your job done and then be left to daydream. To play. To take the short cut and relax. Kids are the same way. Micro-managing is not helpful. Downtime is necessary for growth. Sometimes its ok to just stay home. )

8 year olds can load and unload the dishwasher.

(But to be clear, having ONLY downtime is bad. It leads to slothfulness. Children need to do stuff besides school and playing. And not just stuff that serves them. Stuff that helps out everyone. They need to do things they hate. Like unloading the dishwasher. Everyday. Even on weekends. Cause there are still dirty dishes. And that is how life works. And it won’t kill them. Even if they swear it will. )

Cereal can be a perfectly good option for dinner.

(I just learned this one thanks to the broken foot. It is a miraculous thing. Such freedom. Remember that downtime that we all need? Yep. Sometimes the price is cereal for dinner. )

There are different seasons in life. For instance, seasons of Rest.

(And you do not have to justify the season you are in to anyone. Except maybe your spouse or your best friend . And justify isn’t the right word. Maybe the right word is Admit or Identify. You have to name it in order to move forward. And hopefully the two of you have an All for One and One for All thing happening, so it is ok if the particular season you admit you are in is a little wonky. A little hard to explain at polite parties. Your spouse or your best friend probably already knew this was headed here. Probably before you did. Which is why you chose them to begin with.)

So that is all. My little soap box speech for 2013.Thank you for indulging me.

PS- I love you just as you. Even if you are, in fact, awesome everyday, naturally. Which you probably are. And, let me just say, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer person.

Being perfect never taught anyone anything! I started being kinder to myself after I turned 40 glad you are figuring this out sooner Jerusalem. You are always refreshing even on your soap box! Sorry to hear about your foot. Maybe God is trying to tell you He wants you to seriously take a rest LOL

This just perfectly fits me right now, rest and quiet are my current season. It's needed, even though it was hard to get here. Thank you for getting on the soapbox, and encouraging me to be okay with where I am right now.

It was so liberating the day I told you about my not easy to talk about at parties season. You reminded me I didn't have to justify it to anyone. And I remembered that I didn't. And I was relieved. Being awesome every day is really hard. So today, and probably for a lot of days in the future, I'm just going to get up, take a shower and go to bed. I can't promise anything more than that. And that's ok.